1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to power hand tools, and, more particularly, to a universal, quick connect, reciprocating saw attachment for cordless drills.
2. Description of the Related Art
General construction and wood working projects require a wide variety of power tools to accomplish the job properly. Two power tools that have proven themselves worthy of inclusion in any toolbox are the power drill and the reciprocating saw.
The ability for the drill to produce a hole in just about any material and the reciprocating saw's ability to quickly cut in small, close quarters make them very valuable indeed. However, many individuals do not have the money to afford both tools. The expense for both tools duplicates components that are almost identical in both tools. This redundancy is immediately evident when one looks at both tools and notices that the back half of each is identical in configuration. Also, many individuals do not have the space to store both of the tools. Finally and perhaps the most important, the time spent keeping track of each tool on the job site and having it handy when work needs to be done is an inconvenience. Inevitably, the situation arises where the proper tool is not on hand, and, as a result, time and money are wasted in tracking it down. Accordingly, there is a constant need for new and innovative products that will afford construction workers, wood workers and the like the benefits of the aforementioned devices in a single convenient tool.
In the related art, several devices are disclosed that describe a drill/saw apparatus for converting rotary drill to a reciprocating saw. These include U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,293, issued in the name of Bourke, U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,250, issued in the name of Bourke, U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,768, issued in the name of Bourke, U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,463, issued in the name of Chen and U.S. Pat. No. 4,841,643, issued in the name of Colella et al.
Several patents disclose a hole saw for use in a hand drill. These include U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,341, issued in the name of Despres, U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,643, issued in the name of Juma, U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,651, issued in the name of Despres and U.S. Pat. No. 4,101,238, issued in the name of Reibetanz et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,415, issued in the name of Chiu, describes a power drill adapter with a saw blade transmission.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,376, issued in the name of Lentino, discloses a bevel gear set to convert rotary drill to a reciprocating saw.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,589, issued in the name of Povleski, describes various cutting and sanding attachments for a rotary drill.
U.S. Pat. No. 257,309, issued in the name of Ford, discloses an apparatus with provisions for drilling or boring, circular sawing, or scroll sawing.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that anticipate directly many features of the instant invention. Consequently, a need has been felt for providing an apparatus and method which overcomes the problems cited above.